Reusable carrying bag system

ABSTRACT

A carrying bag including at least two compartment bags, flexible straps interconnecting the compartment bags a predetermined separation S between one another, and flexible carrying handles.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit from U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 61/012,995, filed Jun. 17, 2014, which is hereby incorporated in itsentirety by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to carrying bags generally and to reusablecarrying bag systems in particular.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Carrying bags are used for many applications. Some may be used to carryitems of manufacture while others may be used to carry food products.They may come in diverse sizes and are sometimes reusable.

The reusable bags are generally washable and may be manufactured of arelatively light-weight material. In some cases, the bags may bedesigned allow viewing the items inside the bag without having to openthe bag. In some cases, the bags may be part of a carrying bag systemwhich may include two reusable bags or more. In some cases, the bags mayhave compartments to allow different items to be stored in differentcompartments.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,241 describes a “joinable, soft-sided containers(10) include individual containers (12, 14) each having a compartment(20, 22). Individual containers (12, 14) have handle portions (16, 18)extending outwardly therefrom which each include, in turn, a first panel(50, 52) and a second panel (54, 56). Each first panel (50, 52) has anopening (60, 62) therein that may serve as a handle when the individualcontainers (12, 14) are used individually. The containers (12, 14) maybe configured into a saddlebag configuration by joining the secondpanels (54, 56) such that openings (64, 66) in the second panels (54,56) align to form a single opening that may be placed over a handle (76)of a briefcase (74). The individual containers (12, 14) may also beconfigured into a single container (80) having two compartments (20, 22)by joining the rear walls (24, 26) of the containers (12, 14) andjoining the first panels (50, 52) such that the opening (60, 62) in thefirst panels (50, 52) align and form a single handle”

U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,860 describes “an inexpensive, washable, reusableshopping bag assembly includes a flexible woven fabric primary bag and aplurality of flexible woven fabric auxiliary bags that are substantiallyequal in size to the primary bag. The primary bag includes a pluralityof compartments or pockets storing the auxiliary bags so that they canbe removed as necessary and used to store and carry shopping items. Theprimary bag itself may also be used to carry shopping items.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,385 describes “a shopping bag kit includes acarrying case of collapsible material and a plurality of reusableshopping bags folded and rolled up into reinforcing columns placed incompartments within the carrying case for assisting in maintaining thecarrying case erect to facilitate carrying the kit and the selectivewithdrawal and deployment of each shopping bag for use.

CN103082606 “discloses a vegetable basket, which concretely comprises abasket body, wherein compartments with different sizes are arrangedinside the basket body, and different things can be separately placed invarious compartments during shopping so as to avoid colliding extrusionof the things having different natures, such that advantages ofconvenience, practicality, safety and health are provided. The vegetablebasket is particularly suitable for residents when going to the marketor supermarket shopping”.

US Patent Application Publication 2010/0072279 discloses “a reusable bagincludes a fabric body having an interior volume and an opening thatprovides access to the interior volume. The fabric body including aplurality of threads oriented and spaced apart so as to form a netstructure for securing at least one grocery product within the interiorvolume. At least a portion of the net structure is sized and shaped toallow an optical product identifier received in the interior volume andon or associated with the at least one grocery product to be opticallyidentified through the net structure using an optical scanner”.

Other reusable bags are described in US 2010/320246, US 2011/270696, US2009/290816, US 2012/087601, GB 24554288, and in http://www.reuseit.com/reusable produce-bags/flip-and-tumble-flip-and-tumble-reusableproduce-bags-set-of-5.htm.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

There is provided, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention, a carrying bag including at least two compartment bags,flexible straps interconnecting the compartment bags a predeterminedseparation S between one another, and flexible carrying handles.

There is further provided, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention, a carrying bag system including at least two carryingbags, each bag including at least two compartment bags, flexible strapsinterconnecting the compartment bags a predetermined separation Sbetween one another, fasteners, and flexible carrying handles.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the flexible strapsare permanently attached to the compartment bags.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the flexible strapsare removably attached to the compartment bags.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the at least one ofa front side and a back side of the compartments bags comprises a Tullefabric.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a bottom side ofthe compartment bags includes a Tulle fabric.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, at least onelateral side of the compartment bags includes a Tulle fabric.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a bottom sideand/or at least one lateral side of the compartment bags includesmultiple openings.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the compartmentbags are colored.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the carrying bagincludes fasteners.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the fastenerscomprise a hook and loop fastener.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the fasteners areattached to the flexible straps.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the carrying bag isreusable.

A method of using a carrying bag comprising at least two compartmentbags, flexible straps interconnecting the compartment bags apredetermined separation S between one another, and flexible carryinghandles, the method includes placing products in the compartment bags byassociating a color of each compartment bag with a particular product.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the products arefruits and/or vegetables.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the method furtherincludes placing each compartment bag with a fruit or vegetable on aweighing scale one at a time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject matter regarded as the invention is particularly pointed outand distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification.The invention, however, both as to organization and method of operation,together with objects, features, and advantages thereof, may best beunderstood by reference to the following detailed description when readwith the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a perspective view of an exemplaryreusable carrying bag, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a top view of the carrying bag,according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a front view of the carrying bag,according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a top view of a reusable carrying bagsystem including multiple carrying bags, according to an embodiment ofthe present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of an exemplary method of using the carrying bagand the carrying bag system.

It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration,elements shown in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale.For example, the dimensions of some of the elements may be exaggeratedrelative to other elements for clarity. Further, where consideredappropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the figures toindicate corresponding or analogous elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are setforth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention.However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that thepresent invention may be practiced without these specific details. Inother instances, well-known methods, procedures, and components have notbeen described in detail so as not to obscure the present invention.

The Applicant has realized that reusable carrying bags and reusablecarrying bag systems known in the art, and in particular bags used forcarrying food products, frequently require the food products to bemanipulated a number of times by the buyer, making the whole foodpurchasing process burdensome and time consuming. For example, the buyermay need to handle the food products when picking them up from the shelfor storage bin where they are located to insert them into the bag; hemay remove them from the bag at the purchase counter possibly to weighthem and also to pay and then repack them into the bag after paying; andhe may additionally remove them from the bag to store them once arrivedat home.

The Applicant has further realized that the drawbacks associated withthe above-mentioned reusable carrying bags and reusable carrying bagsystems may be overcome with a reusable lightweight carrying bag whichincludes multiple foldable smaller bags which may serve as separatecompartments to allow different items to be separately placed inside thebags. The compartment bags may be interconnected on a front side and ona back side using flexible straps and flexible carrying handles, and maybe fabricated from a substantially very lightweight material which mayallow optical identification of the items inside each compartment bagwith the naked eye and/or optical scanner. Such a reusable carrying bagmay allow each compartment bag to be individually manipulated so thatits contents do not have to be removed during weighing and/or duringpaying. The Applicant has additionally realized that a reusable carryingbag system may be implemented by detachably connecting multiple carryingbags together, increasing the number of compartment bags available forholding different items.

Reference is now made to FIG. 1 which schematically illustrates aperspective view of an exemplary reusable carrying bag 100, according toan embodiment of the present invention. Reference is also made to FIGS.2 and 3 which schematically illustrate a top view and a front view,respectively, of carrying bag 100. Carrying bag 100 may be used to holddifferent items, which may include food products such as fruits and/orvegetables, among other products.

Carrying bag 100 may include multiple compartment bags, for example, twocompartment bags 102A and 102B interconnected on a front side 103A by aflexible strap 104A and on a back side 103B by a flexible strap 104Battached to the compartment bags. Flexible straps 104A and 104B may bepermanently attached to compartment bags 102A and 102B, for example, bymeans of stitching, adhesives, or other suitable attachment methodsknown in the art, or any combination thereof. Alternatively, flexiblestraps 104A and 104B may be removably attached to compartment bags 102Aand 102B allowing a user to replace the compartment bags as desired. Afastening mechanism to allow removable attachment of flexible straps104A and 104B with compartment bags 102A and 102B may include use ofhook and loop fasteners, snap buttons, a zipper mechanism, or othersuitable fastening mechanism which may allow the compartment bags to beattached to, and detached from, flexible straps 104A and 104B.

Carrying bag 100 may additionally include two flexible carrying handles106A and 106B which may be attached at their ends to compartment bags102A and 102B, possibly at two locations on flexible straps 104A and104B as shown. Means for attaching flexible straps 104A and 104B tocompartment bags 102A and 102B, and to fasten flexible carrying handles106A and 106B to the compartment bags and/or to the flexible straps mayinclude use of stitching, adhesives, or other suitable methods known inthe art, or any combination thereof.

Compartment bags 102A and 102B may each hold a different item, forexample, oranges 105 in compartment bag 102A and apples 107 incompartment bag 102B. Flexible straps 104A and 104B may interconnectcompartment bags 102A and 102B so that there is a separation S betweenthe bags which may allow each bag to be separately manipulated. Forexample, separation S may be sufficiently large to allow compartmentbags 102A and 102B to be weighed separately, and may be at least 8 cm,10 cm, 12 cm, 15 cm, 20 cm, 25 cm, or more. Similarly, flexible handles106A and 106B may each have an end-to-end length to allow compartmentbags 102A and 102B to be manipulated separately.

Compartment bags 102A and 102B may be wholly or partially manufacturedfrom a substantially very lightweight and transparent material to allowidentification of oranges 105 and apples 107 through the material withthe naked eye. The material may additionally allow reading of productbarcode labels or other form of labelling using an optical reader orother product label reader through the material. The material mayadditionally allow adequate ventilation of oranges 105 and apples 107when carrying bag 100 is exposed to ambient temperatures and thecarrying bag is placed inside a cooling compartment (e.g. refrigerator)in order to preserve freshness. For example, front side 103A and/or backside 103B of compartment bags 102A and 102B may be fabricated fromTulle, or other suitable material known in the art.

Lateral sides 111 and bottom sides 113 on compartment bags 102A and 102Bmay additionally be fabricated from Tulle similarly to front side 103Aand 103B, or alternatively, may be fabricated from a foldablelightweight material which may be washable such as, for example, awashable natural or synthetic fabric. Lateral sides 111 and bottom sides113 may be mesh shaped or may include multiple openings to allow rinsingthe exterior and the interior of compartment bags 102A and 102B and toallow adequate ventilation through the openings.

Compartment bags 102A and 102B may each be wholly or partially coloredwith a different color as an identifier which may allow a user toassociate each compartment bag with its contents, potentiallyfacilitating the purchasing process. For example, compartment bag 102Amay be partially or wholly colored in orange to allow the user toassociate the compartment with oranges 105, while compartment bag 102Bmay be colored in red associated with apples 107. Compartment bags 102Aand 102B may sometimes have a same color, for example orange, as anidentifier that carrying bag 100 is to be associated with holdingoranges 105. The skilled person may realize that carrying bag 100 mayinclude compartment bags 102A and 102B in a diversity of colors whichmay be associated by the user with product identification such as, forexample, green for lettuce, white for onions, and yellow for pineapple,among many others.

Compartment bags 102A and 102B may be foldable and may berectangular-shaped as shown, and may have dimensions when folded 35 cmin height by 25 cm wide. When opened, a size of an opening may be 25 cm.The above given shape and dimensions are for exemplary purposes, and theskilled person will realize that the compartment bags may have othershapes and dimensions suitable to hold product items.

Reference is now also made to FIG. 4 which schematically illustrates atop view of an exemplary reusable carrying bag system 150, according toan embodiment of the present invention. Carrying bag system 150 mayinclude multiple carrying bags detachably attached, for example twocarrying bags 100 as shown, although more carrying bags may be included.

Carrying bags 100 are joined together by means of at least two fasteners152 included on front side 103A and back side 103B of each carrying bag.Fasteners 152 may include hook and loop fasteners, snap buttons, azipper mechanism, or other suitable fastening mechanism which may allowcarrying bags to be attached to, and detached from, one another.Fasteners 152 may be positioned with one side of the fastening attachedon one side of carrying bag 100 and the other side of the fasteningmechanism attached on the other, for example for a hook and loopfastener, the hooks on front side 103A and the loops on back side 103B.In this manner, two carrying bags 100 may be joined together merely byjoining front side 103A of one carrying bag to back side 103B of theother carrying bag. Fasteners 152 may be attached on front side 103A andback side 103B on compartment bags 102A and 102B, respectively, and mayinclude attachment to flexible straps 104A and 104B. Fasteners 152 maybe additionally attached at other locations along the length of flexiblestraps 104A and 104B.

Reference is now made to FIG. 5 which is a flow chart of an exemplarymethod of using carrying bag 100 and carrying bag system 150. Theskilled person will realize that the following method described is forexemplary purposes and that the method may be practiced with more orless steps, skipping steps, inserting in-between steps, and modifyingsteps.

At optional step 500, a user of carrying bag 100 may assemble one ormore bags, for example two carrying bags, by selecting 4 flexible straps(104A and 104B) and 4 compartment bags and attaching 2 compartment bagsto two flexible straps. The user may select the compartment bagsaccording to colors associated with the products to be purchased, forexample, orange for oranges, red for apples, green for cucumbers, andred for tomatoes. The carrying handles (106A and 106B) may bepermanently attached to the flexible straps or the user may removablyattach them to the flexible straps or to the compartment bags.

At step 502, the user may attach carrying bags 100 together to create acarrying bag system 150. If the carrying bags are preassembled (not fromoptional step 500), the user may select the carrying bags according tothe colors of the compartment bags, for example, one carrying bag mayhave two red compartment bags (one for the apples and one for thetomatoes), and the other may have a green compartment bag (for thecucumbers) and an orange compartment bag (for the oranges).

At step 504, the user in the store, for example a fruit and vegetablestore, may proceed to select the products. The user may place theoranges in the orange compartment bag, the cucumbers in the greencompartment bag, the tomatoes in one of the red compartment bags, andthe apples in the other compartment bag.

At step 506, the user may proceed to the cashier to weigh and pay forthe fruits and vegetables. At the cashier the user places eachcompartment bag one by one on the scale for weighing. Prior to placingon the scale, the user may first detach the two carrying bags 100 fromone another so as to allow handling of each bag separately on the scale.The weight of the compartment bag may be substantially negligiblecompared to the weight of the produce so that the user may not beconcerned with its weight. For example, a weight of each compartment bag102A and 102B, when empty, may be in a range between 0-0.5 kg, forexample, 100 grams, 200 grams, 300 grams, 350 grams, 400 grams, or moreuntil 500 grams. A weight of compartment bags 102A and 102B when holdingitems, for example oranges 105 and apples 107 may be in the rangebetween 0 kg-5 kg or greater, for example, 0.5 kg, 1 kg, 1.5 kg, 2 kg, 3kg, 3,5 kg, 4 kg, 4,5 kg, 5 kg, or greater. The products may beidentified by viewing them through any one of the sides of thecompartment bag with the Tulle material. Optionally, labels on theproducts (i.e. for determining price of the products) may be opticallyread by nearing an optical reader to the side with the Tulle material.

At step 508, the user at home, may detach the two carrying bags 100 fromone another

At optional step 510, the user may disassemble each carrying bag 100 andmay remove each compartment bag with the fruits and vegetables insidethe compartment bags.

At step 512, the user may place the carrying bags 100 with the fruitsand vegetables inside the refrigerator. If the carrying bags werepreviously disassembled (from optional step 510), the user may placeeach compartment bags with the fruits and vegetables inside therefrigerator.

While certain features of the invention have been illustrated anddescribed herein, many modifications, substitutions, changes, andequivalents will now occur to those of ordinary skill in the art. It is,therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended tocover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spiritof the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A carrying bag comprising: at least twocompartment bags; flexible straps interconnecting said compartment bagsa predetermined separation S between one another; and flexible carryinghandles.
 2. A carrying bag according to claim 1 wherein said flexiblestraps are permanently attached to said compartment bags.
 3. A carryingbag according to claim 1 wherein said flexible straps are removablyattached to said compartment bags.
 4. A carrying bag according to claim1 wherein at least one of a front side and a back side of saidcompartments bags comprises a Tulle fabric.
 5. A carrying bag accordingto claim 1 wherein a bottom side of said compartment bags comprises aTulle fabric.
 6. A carrying bag according to claim 1 wherein at leastone lateral side of said compartment bags comprises a Tulle fabric.
 7. Acarrying bag according to claim 1 wherein a bottom side and/or at leastone lateral side of said compartment bags comprises multiple openings.8. A carrying bag according to claim 1 wherein each said compartmentbags is colored.
 9. A carrying bag according to claim 1 furthercomprising fasteners.
 10. A carrying bag according to claim 9 whereinsaid fasteners comprise a hook and loop fastener.
 11. A carrying bagaccording to claim 9 wherein said fasteners are attached to saidflexible straps.
 12. A carrying bag according to claim 1 wherein thecarrying bag is reusable.
 13. A carrying bag system comprising: at leasttwo carrying bags, each bag comprising: at least two compartment bags;flexible straps interconnecting said compartment bags a predeterminedseparation S between one another; fasteners; and flexible carryinghandles.
 14. A carrying bag system according to claim 13 wherein saidflexible straps are permanently attached to said compartment bags.
 15. Acarrying bag system according to claim 13 wherein said flexible strapsare removably attached to said compartment bags.
 16. A carrying bagsystem according to claim 13 wherein at least one of a front side and aback side of said compartments bags comprises a Tulle fabric.
 17. Acarrying bag system according to claim 13 wherein a bottom side of saidcompartment bags comprises a Tulle fabric.
 18. A carrying bag systemaccording to claim 13 wherein at least one lateral side of saidcompartment bags comprises a Tulle fabric.
 19. A carrying bag accordingto claim 13 wherein a bottom side and/or at least one lateral side ofsaid compartment bags comprises a multiple openings.
 20. A carrying bagaccording to claim 13 wherein each said compartment bags are colored.